The present invention relates to digital image devices. More specifically, it relates to a controller device in a digital camera, the camera being enabled by the controller to record at least two images and generate a single, optimally registered panoramic image from those at least two images.
Digital cameras are increasingly popular. The same applies to camera phones. The digital images taken by these devices use a digital sensor and a memory which can store data generated by the sensor. Data may represent a still image. Data may also represent a video image. Images may be viewed on the device. Images may also be transferred to an external device, either for viewing, for storage or for further processing.
Panoramic images are also very popular and have been created from the time of photographic film to the present day of digital imaging. A whole range of tools exists to combine two or more images from a scene into a single, combined, hopefully seamless panoramic image. This process of combining is called registering, stitching or mosaicing. An advantage of a panoramic image is to provide a view of a scene that is usually beyond what is usually possible with a common camera and having no or very little distortion.
The process of picture taking for creating a panoramic image is a process that has many different technologies, apparatus and methods. Very common is the method of taking a first picture with a single lens camera, followed by taking at least a second picture at a later time, and followed by stitching the pictures together. This method is not very user friendly or requires complex cameras or complex camera settings. Furthermore, this method may be troublesome for creating video images.
Cameras with multiple lenses are also known. These cameras should be easier to use. However, current implementations still require users to provide fairly involved manual settings.
Accordingly, novel and improved methods and apparatus are required for creating, recording, storing and playing of panoramic images.